All Posts Tagged With: "religion"
Is This The Way To Expose Your Light or Darkness
A week or so ago… A friend on Facebook posted about the Biden student loan forgiveness, currently in many discussions throughout MSM and Social Media. Following is a transcript of that post, no names will be disclosed. This is not about an individual. It’s about a pervasive attitude amongst too many, one that is destroying […]
4Sep2022 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
When We Are Filled With Hate And Fear
What are the common denominators with people who are filled with hate and fear? What are the symptoms? What are their political views? What is wrong with them??? They were abused as children. That is the one common feature of the hateful and fearful. Their parents tried to beat them into respectful adults. Or the […]
27Dec2017 | Thomas Franklin | 2 comments | Continued
Curiosity is Not Alone in Killing the Cat
A curiosity moment led me to wonder, “Just what are the most probable causes of the Apocalypse and if any, the percentages of certainty?” I found many articles and many opinions on the subject and very little speculation or mathematics on how to rate each catastrophe with a percentage of ‘Most Likely’ to happen. What […]
12Oct2017 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
My First Tattoo
Oceanside, California, is located on the border of Camp Pendleton, that really big Marine base. I was there. Not Camp Pendleton, Oceanside. It was 1969 and I was doing what I would later learn was called a ‘walkabout’. I was drifting with the wind, facing the draft, Vietnam, adulthood, and ultimately responsibility. Oceanside was […]
26Sep2016 | Gary Clark | 1 comment | Continued
Oh Lord Won’t You Give Me?
I loved and love Janis Joplin. I like the song she sang, Mercedes Benz, because it reminds me of a Church I attended with a friend when I was about 16. It was located in South St. Joseph. There was a neon sign outside proclaiming PENTECOSTAL SOMETHING OR OTHER CHURCH. A bright white two story […]
31Jul2016 | Nancy Belle | 0 comments | Continued
Anger Disguised As Political and Religious Reasoning
Most of the extremist people I know, left or right, have troubled backgrounds. There is no other way to say it. Today I am going to use a dear troubled friend as an example. Of course, the name has been changed. Some will argue that this is mere anecdotal reasoning and thus not comprehensive enough […]
7Mar2016 | Gary Clark | Comments Off on Anger Disguised As Political and Religious Reasoning | Continued
Founding Fathers Commentary on Religion
“If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution.” – George […]
18Mar2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Founding Fathers Commentary on Religion | Continued
The Crusades of the Religious Fundamentalists
The 21st Century is shaping up much like that of a thousand years past. A few Muslims poked us in the eye and all of our kinfolk came out of the woods to defend our honor – something like that. We do not intend in any way to suggest the the horrid attacks on our […]
2Oct2012 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Bad Religion
Religion tends to be about the rules, about the law. Spirituality tends to deal in Grace and Mercy and personal progression. Religion, balanced with grace, mercy, and progress, can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth.
17Apr2012 | bryan | 4 comments | Continued
Investing Our Self In A Cause
When we completely invest ourselves in any cause we risk our sanity. From religion to politics to civil rights to social justice – to being employed in a noble profession – any cause can be consuming. Problems come when we identify ourselves in the context of the cause. We risk losing touch with social norms. […]
14Jan2011 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Investing Our Self In A Cause | Continued
America is the Definition of Cosmopolitan
Everything about America that is considered great and wonderful is the result of the melding of cultural ideals brought here by immigrants. People across this country enjoy Mexican Restaurants – as long as there are no actual Mexicans in the place.
8May2010 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on America is the Definition of Cosmopolitan | Continued
The Conscience Clause, Death Panels, and Health Care Reform
The idea of legalizing a medical conscience for Health Care providers originated with the debate around abortion. The idea was simple enough: If a physician was morally opposed to abortion, he should be allowed to follow his conscious. Fair enough. But the conscience clause evolved under the Bush Administration, growing nasty tentacles of religious dogma. […]
14Aug2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Of Fear, Faith, and Foreign Affairs
Fear and faith do not live in the same home. The word ‘faith’ conjures images of peace of mind, hope for the future, for the fellowship of man. Faith speaks to the lion lying with the lamb – and the lamb can sleep with both eyes closed. Fear exists in a troubled mind, a troubled […]
5Jun2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
The Rise And Fall of 20th Century Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is always reactionary, always combative, always fearful, and often militant. The term originated with American Protestantism and gained momentum in the early 20th Century, but may now be aptly applied to a variety of religions and politics. According to Merriam-Webster fundamentalism is “a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set […]
28May2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 4 comments | Continued
Abortion and Common Sense
Abortion is not black or white, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. Abortion is a problem of humanity – and this era of Abortion in American will be studied by future historians. The folks looking back will recognize the futile and selfish partisan bickering that prolonged the agony of a health care disaster. Both fanatical […]
6May2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 8 comments | Continued
American Soldiers as Christian Evangelicals – Hunt for Jesus
No one would deny a soldier the right to faith – even if we wanted to. Is there anything wrong with having military chaplains? Not at all. I have a copy of a Navy Hymnal from 1941 – and it seems to me that each solider is better off, is even a better soldier, if […]
4May2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
The Stormy Marriage of Jesus
Arranged marriages are common in some cultures. And why not? We adults know what is best for our children. We tell ourselves we are only being responsible when arranging their life. The practice is highlighted in books and movies. Perhaps the best known, or perhaps most entertaining, is “Fiddler on the Roof.” After all, traditions […]
18Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 4 comments | Continued
Sunday Is For Religion, Tuesday Is For Politics
We obviously have a system that promotes a separation of Church and State. The week begins with Sunday at Church – then we take a day to cool off and return to a mentality of sanity, so we can go vote. Most elections are held on the first Tuesday of November or April. Church is always on Sunday, no matter which month. And that is how America works – faithfully keeping religion separate from politics.
5Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
Jesus: Radical Rabbi or Practical Mystic?
There is a lot of talk these days about being “spiritual” but not being “religious.” We often hear, “I see myself as a spiritual person, but not as a religious person.” This is the mantra of the children of the counter cultural movement of alternative spirituality. It is so much the mantra of a movement that it is no longer counter cultural, but represents the mainstream American thought process.
19Jan2009 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
The Worst Church Marquees and Why They Are So Wrong
This has been a burr in my saddle for years. Longer than that, I guess. Before I made the switch to regular church attendance, the oh-so-clever church marquees were a beacon of tacky religion that always made me wonder why people would gather in a place like that. Now, they are just embarrassing and they […]
7Dec2008 | bryan | 4 comments | Continued
Which Came First? Religion or Depression
There’s a cartoon with a chicken and an egg in bed together. The chicken is smoking a cigarette with a very satisfied expression on his face, and the egg is restless and disgruntled. The caption above the egg says, “Well, I guess that answers the question.” That’s how I think of the relationship between depression […]
30Oct2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Which Came First? Religion or Depression | Continued
Obama’s Best Chance – Palin’s Example
The opportunity for the White House increased dramatically with the McCain choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Initially Palin energized what the Republicans call their base. She did and she does energize those people and that is exactly what is wrong with the Republican Party. Check out the latest Obama advertisement: Plain represents […]
29Oct2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Desmond Tutu on Homosexuality
I received an email today – as I do many times during the course of the week – from a family member who must be convinced the we see the world in the same way. I am sure that many of you have someone that prowls your email this way. Based on some skewed version […]
13Oct2008 | bryan | 3 comments | Continued
Voting on Faith, or Faith in Voting
This is a tough one. We allow freedom of religion, of spirituality, freedom to worship as one chooses. But what about when it is time to vote. We want a person in office who is reasonable, intelligent, some education about government or economics or business or work or something is useful. We look to past […]
5Oct2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Voting on Faith, or Faith in Voting | Continued
Conservatives of 2008 – Raping and Pillaging
Something is way out of whack in the logic of the Conservatives of 2008. The logic is guilt or honor by association. The logic goes something like this: “I believe in Jesus and I believe we should drill for more oil in our backyard.” Thus given that Jesus is a solid belief it follows that […]
2Oct2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 8 comments | Continued
States Rights – a Feudal System
Bear with me – sometimes the answers to current problems have historical roots – and the answers to complex problems have already been worked out. Over time people have tried varieties of government and economic systems. Our Founding Fathers studied the history of government and molded the bold liberal experiment that we now call the […]
17Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Gustav – A Message From God?
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States the reaction of the populace varied from the scientific to the religious. The scientists said the magnitude of the hurricane could be attributed to Global Warming. Some fundamentalist theologians argued Katrina was sent by God to punish New Orleans for sinful ways. We use […]
31Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
McCain Drives Religious Wedge to Promote War
John McCain is driving a deeper wedge of religious animosity to promote his own version of Cowboy Diplomacy. In a speech this morning on the conflict between Russian and Georgia McCain was quick to note that Georgia is a country that has embraced Christianity. Does this religious embrace, by itself, justify their defense. No, an […]
12Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on McCain Drives Religious Wedge to Promote War | Continued
Anecdote – Stoking Flames of Conversation
The Fireside often presents reason in the form of anecdote. We are not alone. Anecdotes are the parables of modern discourse. They are not scientific, not products of statistical analysis. Anecdotes offer insight by personalizing issues. Anecdotes are used to wrench the gut, to appeal to the human emotion, to define issues in terms of […]
1Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Anecdote – Stoking Flames of Conversation | Continued
This Time – The Tide is Turning
This time, this election, we must bridge the chasm of race, gender, politics – liberal and conservative, religion – fundamental, evangelical, literal, figurative, Christian or Islam. Real leadership is nuanced. It is not black and white. It is not rooted in the winning and losing mentality of pure capitalism. I believe it was Henry Ford […]
27Mar2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Political Bracketology by Pundits
We are coming out of the political semi-finals. The Old Man beat the Evangelical. Now the Old man is poised to face off with the winner of the Black Man versus White Woman contest. Are these useful characterizations? Personally, I don’t think so. But if we listen to the 24/7 cable news channels we […]
20Mar2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Political Bracketology by Pundits | Continued
Religion – General or Particular
Son, We talk about faith. We talk about religion. We talk about Church. But when you and I talk we are on different plains. I usually speak of religion, even Christianity, in general terms. You have a commitment to a particular church and their doctrine. You and I represent the fundamental debate of faith – […]
16Feb2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Religion – General or Particular | Continued
George Carlin – Video On Religion
Son, We talk about religion. We talk about faith. We talk about politics. We talk about religion, faith, and politics mixed together. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we are angry. Sometimes we are thoughtful, sometimes emotional. My mood today is more in line with George Carlin. Check him out – there is some strong language. […]
10Feb2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on George Carlin – Video On Religion | Continued
Supply Side Jesus
Dad, The conversation around here has been meandering through politics, economics, and religion. I thought I might dig into my YouTube favorites for a nice video that could begin to tie it all together for us. Low and behold, I dug up this gem from Al Franken: [wp_youtube]AK7gI5lMB7M[/wp_youtube] Thanks, Al. I needed that. Bryan.
28Jan2008 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
Make Money, For Christ’s Sake
Dad, We have written much here about faith and action, lifestyle and religion. I want to revisit the conversation about the Prosperity Gospel. I spent much of my formative years rolling my eyes at the public face of Christianity. The public face of religion in general, as a matter of fact. In the last five […]
26Jan2008 | bryan | Comments Off on Make Money, For Christ’s Sake | Continued
Violations of our Constitution – Revolution
Son, We have written a number of times about our Founding Fathers, and their intent for this great country. Today finds our country again at the threshold of revolution. But American Revolution has come to mean that we have an election and the people decide in a peaceful manner what direction the country should take. […]
18Jan2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
5 traits of a healthy faith
Dad, We have conversations about faith, religions, ad Jesus a lot in this magazine. I thought it might be helpful to look at some of the factors that define healthy faith journeys and get some feedback on what that might look like. In short, here are 5 things that I think represent a healthy faith: […]
18Jan2008 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
Trash Talk – the elixir of life
Son, Trash talk is the elixir of life, the stimulus of humanity, the foreplay of debate, a ceremonial dance before the big event. Trash Talk is the spirit of politics, sports, scientific innovation, and even religion. Minus Trash Talk, nothing is left. Did you ever notice two boxers at their weigh-in. One might think it […]
13Jan2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Trash Talk – the elixir of life | Continued
New Hampshire Gender Factor
Son, I don’t believe it. Not this time. Not in 2008. The pundits are trying to analyze the prospects of the candidates in terms of old ideas. Statistically, which means historically, demographics help predict outcomes. Not this time. Tim Russert was on NBC News tonight – preaching the same old stuff. “…New Hampshire has […]
5Jan2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on New Hampshire Gender Factor | Continued
The Year of Fear – 2008
Son, Irony abounds. An Election for President of the U. S. is upon us. We are talking about the leader of the free world. Some candidates for this heralded office use fear to jerk the chains of voters. Freedom and fear are not compatible concepts. Further irony reeks from the pores of candidate supporters – […]
30Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Year of Fear – 2008 | Continued
The Prophecy of Ohg Rea Tone – 2008
Son, I am compelled on this Christmas Day in 2007 to offer some insight into 2008. In the true spirit of prophecy I will focus on conditional prophecies. Conditional prophecies are most useful because they allow us opportunity to have some say in future events – if we were only aware of the conditional stimuli. […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Prophecy of Ohg Rea Tone – 2008 | Continued
Nostradamus – a cruel hoax
Son, I have a bad knee – well, they did surgery on it in 1983. My knee now reacts to the weather. I can always tell when it rained yesterday. Such is the case with the predictions of Nostradamus. It is Christmas Day and I am tired – I stayed up late last night – […]
25Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Nostradamus – a cruel hoax | Continued
how do we change our behavior?
Dad, Our conversations tend to evaluate religion through the lens of scholarly interpretations. The problem with religion and scholarly discussion is that we can leverage the dialogue to avoid subjects that might get personal, and therefor inhibit growth. When people start to talk about feelings and families, about what they like and dislike about themselves, […]
28Sep2007 | bryan | Comments Off on how do we change our behavior? | Continued
Proud to be an American!
Son, I wear my patriotism with pride. I am embarrassed by the representation of our American Republic by our current Presidential Administration. The current flavor of our Government is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind. The Second Amendment is not more important than the First Amendment, or the Fourth or the Fifth – […]
18Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Proud to be an American! | Continued
Founding Fathers – Liberals all!
Son, I am fascinated by your ideology. You have achieved my dream for you – a dream that you would grow to be an independent thinker – a dream that you would base your thoughts on basic, solid, values. Your values are solid – belief in the basic goodness of humanity, belief in progress (let’s […]
18Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Founding Fathers – Liberals all! | Continued
Babies Vs. Politicians: Who is Smarter?
Son, A national magazine recently had an article titled ‘Babies Vs. Chimps.” It felt like I was reading an article on ‘Babies Vs. American Politicians.” The study examined theories of general-intelligence versus cultural-intelligence. The different study groups “performed about equally well on ‘physical learning’ – locating hidden objects…understanding concepts of more and less, using a […]
17Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Babies Vs. Politicians: Who is Smarter? | Continued
Angry Grandfathers Do Not Pray!
Son, I’m with you. A continued, recurring illness in your little four year old girl is terribly frustrating. One of my favorite optimistic sayings is, “We should be grateful that we live in an era of modern medicine.” But what do we do when the health care system comes up short? I don’t have […]
16Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Angry Grandfathers Do Not Pray! | Continued
Praying for Help
Dad, It is Sunday morning and your granddaughter has a fever again. She finished her antibiotics two days a go, and this is becoming a frustratingly familiar story. People have been suggesting alternative medicines, our neighbor is a chiropractor, my mother-in-law is concerned about all of the antibiotics that my daughter is taking. At first, […]
16Sep2007 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
Let Us Have Peace, Shall We?
Dad, Our ship’s boatswain used to tell us, “look for problems, you’ll find them. Look for solutions, you’ll not find problems.” I think this can be applied to our current political climate. I don’t like the administration, but I don’t want to hear about it anymore. I want us all to get to work on […]
13Sep2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Let Us Have Peace, Shall We? | Continued
Denial – Outdated Mythology
Son, There is a huge mistake by Addiction Treatment Professionals, law enforcement, and the courts in addressing the problem of alcohol and drug addiction. The dominant philosophy the past thirty years has been that the central problem is one of denial. That is to say, the belief that alcoholics and addicts have abnormally robust denial […]
12Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Denial – Outdated Mythology | Continued